Strauss Lieder

I have long been a fan of Strauss' Lieder, preferring Jessye Norman for these. They came to me by way of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and are known also in the voice of Renée Fleming. Part of the purpose of this blog--remember it has primarily an inner agenda--is to open up my soul to new insights, new approaches to familiar music as well as the unfamiliar.

So here they are with Jonas Kaufmann, a heldentenor, IMHO. [I can never remember acronyms, but find this one funny.] The sound of his voice is heavenly, and his renditions of these songs come to me as from above. A man singing Strauss. He never becomes sentimental or precious like many a soprano. They are transformed in his voice. I find this recording very beautiful.

In his forties he will become a great Wagnerian. He should begin with Siegmund.
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